


Still Life with Nude

by sjhw_tolerance (mscorkill)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-29
Updated: 2012-04-29
Packaged: 2017-11-04 12:54:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/394102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscorkill/pseuds/sjhw_tolerance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack O’Neill saves the world—for the fifth or sixth time—but who’s keeping count?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Life with Nude

**Author's Note:**

> The last of the fic written specifically for apocalypse_kree
> 
> Second of two stories written for the nude painting prompt. Many thanks to skydiver119, who provided the basic premise for the story and whose imaginative ideas kept it going. 
> 
> Originally posted August 2007.

**STILL LIFE WITH NUDE**

**PROLOGUE**

“That is a beautiful painting, Kynthia,” Thetyes commented. “It is too bad your marriage did not last.”

Kynthia smiled, setting her paintbrush and palette down. “He was indeed a wonderful man, but I could not keep him once I discovered he did not understand our ways.”

Thetyes nodded. “Are you not worried Solaris will be jealous?”

Laughing softly, Kynthia turned to look at her big, handsome husband, a bight smile on his face as he played with their young son Adrastos. “He has no cause to be jealous of a painting. Besides,” she added, a dreamy smile on her face. “A memory—no matter how delightful—cannot keep me warm at night nor provide me with children.” 

Kynthia turned back to her painting, picked up her paintbrush again and slanted a wicked smile towards her friend. “But that will not stop me from enjoying my hobby.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**THREE YEARS LATER**

The klaxon sounded and Walter’s voice came over the loud speaker. “Unscheduled off-world activation. General Hammond to the control room.”

George Hammond let out a heavy sigh, he was never going to get this report finished at the rate his morning was getting interrupted. But, the next off-world team wasn’t due to report for three more hours. Before Walter could call him again, George left his office and headed down the stairs to the control room.

“It’s SG15, sir,” the technician said without looking up from his console. “They’re under heavy fire and report casualties.”

“Open the iris.”

George had just given the order when Jack O’Neill bounded up the stairs. “What’s up, sir?”

“SG15. They’re taking heavy fire.”

“Isn’t Daniel with them?”

Hammond nodded grimly, watching the iris as it opened, revealing the shimmering blue of the event horizon. It seemed to take an eternity before the wormhole spit out the first members of SG15, weapons fire following them through the wormhole, one of the men was limping and being supported by his comrade. A split second later, a third man emerged and then Colonel Grayson skidded through the gate, followed by more weapons fire and shouting, “Close the iris! Close the iris!”

“Do it,” Hammond said, brushing past a grim-faced O’Neill and heading down to the gate room. O’Neill was right on his heels, Teal’c joining them in the corridor.

Fraiser and her medics were already in the gate room, tending to the two wounded men, one of them already being transported out on a stretcher. Colonel Grayson walked slowly down the ramp, he didn’t appear to be seriously injured, though there was blood dripping from a wound on his temple.

“Report.”

“We were ambushed by a group of Jaffa on our way back to the Stargate. They just came out of nowhere.”

“Where’s Daniel?” O’Neill demanded.

“Captured.”

“What do you mean captured?”

“Just what I said,” Grayson said. He scrubbed his hand over his face, grimacing slightly when it came away covered with blood. Wiping it on his trousers, he spoke quietly. “It’s like they were waiting for us, sir, and they knew exactly what they were doing,” he addressed Hammond. “One minute we were all together and the next, they’d cut us off from each other.” 

Grayson shook his head, swaying slightly. “I didn’t even see the ship, but the next thing we knew, Doctor Jackson and three of the Jaffa were surrounded by a ring transporter. After that, well, the Jaffa suddenly became more accurate with their staff weapons and we barely made it back to the Stargate.”

“Sir,” Fraiser interrupted, putting a supporting arm around Grayson. “I need to get this man to the infirmary.”

“Very well, Doctor.” Hammond stepped aside while Fraiser helped the injured man the rest of the way down the ramp and out of the gate room.

“General, sir,” O’Neill said immediately once Grayson and his team were on their way to the infirmary. “SG1 is ready to go on the rescue mission.”

“Not so fast, Colonel. I’m not authorizing any rescue mission until we have more intelligence.”

“General—”

“SG1 will lead the mission, Colonel—when I authorize it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her Imperial Highness, Xiaolian, the beautiful and very spoiled seventh Princess of Lord Yu, swept down the corridor of the Hatak, her long scarlet robes sweeping out behind her. Her Imperial guard, borrowed from amongst her father’s Jaffa, bowed low as she passed. She wore a satisfied smile on her face, after months of searching, she had finally achieved her goal and when she returned in triumph with her new consort, her father would be forced to acknowledge her as a powerful force and worthy of her own empire. 

“I will see him now,” she declared imperiously to her self-appointed First Prime, Qianfan.

“As you wish, your Imperial Highness.” Qianfan bowed low before entering the access code for the cell that held their captive.

Xiaolian’s heart started beating faster when the door slid smoothly open and she stepped over the threshold of the cell, Qianfan and one of the other guards right behind her. “At last, my love, I have found you!”

The tall, dark haired man in the cell slowly turned around and pushed his glasses up his nose, surprised blue eyes meeting hers. “Excuse me, have we met?”

Xiaolian gasped; her eyes glowed fiercely with her displeasure and she turned, slapping Qianfan so hard that he fell to his knees. “Fool!” she spat. “You have brought me the wrong member of SG1!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“From Colonel Grayson’s description, I believe the Jaffa who attacked SG15 and kidnapped Daniel Jackson are in service to Yu.”

Jack opened his mouth but Carter beat him. “Yu? I don’t know, Teal’c. The planet where SG15 and Daniel were studying those ruins is not even close to Yu’s empire.”

“General, I say it doesn’t matter whose Jaffa they are, we need to go find Daniel!” 

Hammond’s voice was calm and controlled. “The rest of Colonel Grayson’s team corroborates his story that Daniel Jackson was transported by rings that appeared out of thin air.”

“It can only mean one thing, sir,” Carter added. “Daniel was transported to a ship, probably a Hatak, given the description of the number of Jaffa that attacked SG15.”

“He could be anywhere, Jack.” Hammond’s expression was sympathetic but firm. ”I’ve already arranged for a message to be sent to the Tok’ra, they may have an operative in Yu’s ranks.”

Jack was about to protest again, when the klaxons blared and Walter’s voice came over the loud speaker. “Unscheduled off world activation.”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Jack muttered, pushing out of his chair and following Hammond and the others down the stairs to the control room.

“It’s the Tok’ra, sir,” Walter said.

“That was fast,” Jack said.

“I’ll say, we haven’t sent the message yet.” Hammond turned back to Walter. “Open the iris.”

The quartet trooped out of the control room and into the gate room and took their positions at the foot of the ramp. The SFs at the ready, weapons drawn, when the event horizon rippled and Jacob Carter emerged.

“Dad!” Carter smiled broadly and met her father on the ramp, giving him a kiss.

“Good to see you, kiddo,” he replied, hugging her.

“George,” Jacob said, shaking his old friend’s hand when he reached the end of the ramp. “I wish I was here under different circumstances.”

“It’s fortuitous timing on your part, Jacob. We were just about to send a message to the Tok’ra.”

“I know,” Jacob replied, his smile fading. “Daniel has been captured by a Goa’uld.”

“How do you know that?” Jack interjected.

Jacob glanced around the busy gate room. “Perhaps we should discuss this some place else.”

“Of course,” Hammond said, leading the way back up to the briefing room. They all resumed their previous seats, except Jacob sat at Hammond’s left this time instead of Carter. “Earlier today we received a message, using one of our older access codes. It was from Xiaolian, one of Yu’s daughters.”

“Yu has daughters?” Jack asked. 

“She’s probably not his biological daughter, more than likely her symbiote is descended from the same line as his symbiote.” 

Jacob’s head dipped and when he looked up, his eyes glowed. “Yu takes great pride in his ancestry and has gone to great lengths to continue with his role as Emperor of the Imperial Dynasty. Xiaolian is one of ten so-called daughters that live in his palace on his home planet, along with an equal number of sons.”

“Yeah, we get that. Lots of kids,” Jack said, tapping his pencil on the table until Hammond gave him a firm look. “But what does this Chow Mien have to do with Daniel?”

Jacob’s head dipped again and when he looked up, he frowned slightly at Jack. “Xiaolian,” he said, putting subtle emphasis on her name, “has captured Daniel.”

“For what reason would an Imperial Princess have need of Daniel Jackson?” Teal’c questioned.

“She wouldn’t say.” Jacob looked irritated. “The Jaffa she sent to deliver the message could only report that she wants to negotiate with the Tau’ri of the SGC for his release and has asked for Tok’ra to act as the intermediaries.” Jacob smiled wryly. “She has graciously agreed to let the negotiations be held be held at the SGC and that she will attend under whatever terms we dictate.”

“Sounds odd, Dad.”

“Sounds like a trap,” Jack commented darkly.

“Indeed.”

“Isn’t this in violation of the protected planets treaty?” Hammond asked.

“That’s what makes it so curious. It’s an obvious a violation of the treaty, but either she doesn’t’ care or she has a very powerful motive for such a bold move.”

“Or maybe Daddy doesn’t know?” Jack commented snidely. 

Jacob shrugged. “Either way, she has Daniel and she wants to negotiate for his release.”

“What do you suggest?” Hammond said.

“Beside the obvious risk of having Daniel Jackson and all his knowledge in the hands of a Goa’uld? I don’t really see that we have any other choice. We hear her out and in the mean time, maybe we can find where they’re holding him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack tugged at his tie, sitting down at a corner table in the deserted dining hall. He hated being stuck at the SGC—which was where he’d been for the last two days, waiting to hear from her Imperial Highness. He should have been out there, searching for Daniel instead of waiting for some damn spoiled Goa’uld princess to arrive. And to add insult to injury, he, Carter and Teal’c weren’t even going to be allowed to participate in the negotiations. Which meant he had been forced to change into his dress blues for nothing because Her Imperial Highness had sent last minute instructions instructing that she would only speak with the leader of the base, in the presence of the Tok’ra intermediary. At least Teal’c was getting to be involved, recruited to keep watch over the Jaffa the princess had brought with her. 

Carter walked into the dining hall, dressed in her blues too, and after grabbing a cup of coffee, came over to join him. 

“I see you didn’t get the memo in time either,” he groused.

“Yeah,” she muttered, sitting down and tugging on her skirt. “My feet are killing me. I’d rather wear boots any day than high heels.”

“Hmmph…at least you aren’t strangled with a tie.”

“Oh, like these tabs aren’t just as uncomfortable? And don’t even get me started on pantyhose!”

Their mutual complaining was interrupted by the sound of the klaxon and the familiar “Off world Activation” announcement. “Looks like she’s here,” Jack observed sourly.

“I know you’d rather be out there looking for Daniel, sir. I’d rather be out looking for him, too. But SG3 and SG6 are out there, tracking down leads.”

“Yeah, while we’re stuck here twiddling our thumbs,” he grumbled, refusing to be coaxed into a good mood.

Jack’s mood hadn’t improved after four cups of coffee, when one hour later, Teal’c came into the dining hall. He nodded at Jack and Carter. “General Hammond requests your presence in the conference room.”

Jack jumped up. “Finally! Do we know where Daniel is yet?”

“General Hammond did not say.”

“What do you know, Teal’c?” Carter asked as they followed the Jaffa down to level twenty-five.

“That the Imperial Princess Xiaolian has left the SGC.”

“What?” Jack stopped suddenly, Carter bumping into him. “She’s gone? All of this and she’s gone already?”

Sam frowned and touched his arm. “Come on, sir. I’m sure there’s a good explanation.”

“There damn well better be!”

Jack stormed off down the hallway, Teal’c and Carter following in his wake and burst into the conference room. Hammond and Jacob, who sat across each other at the round table, looked up, neither man impressed by his developing fit of temper. 

“What the hell happened?”

“Sit down, son,” Hammond said mildly. 

Jack wanted to refuse, but Hammond had that look on his face that told Jack he had already pushed the old general as far as he should. Jacob smiled benignly, apparently enjoying the show. Chairs scraped across the floor and Jack sat down, flanked by the comforting presence of his remaining teammates.

“So,” Jack said, finally breaking the silence. “What does she want?”

Hammond exchanged a look with Jacob, who stood and walked to the front of the room, where Jack just then noticed a covered easel standing between the United States flag and the Colorado flag. 

Jacob flipped back the cloth cover on the easel. “She wants the man in this painting.”

The artist had painted the man relaxing in the nude on a low divan or bed, he lay propped up on his side, one end of the rumpled, dark red cover on the divan draped strategically over the man’s groin. A bowl of brightly colored fruit—or maybe vegetables—rested on a low table to one side of the divan, but it wasn’t the mouthwatering colors of the fruit that drew your eye. Either the artist was very talented or had a special affinity for the subject; the man’s light brown hair was sexily mussed; his smiling face and dark brown eyes radiated love and affection; the broad planes of his chest and the rippling muscles in his arms and thighs almost seemed to jump off the canvas. 

Jack’s mouth dropped open in shock, his mind racing, trying to form a coherent thought. He glanced quickly at Carter, her eyes were wide and when she caught him looking at her, she turned bright pink and quickly averted her gaze, staring down at the glossy table top. Teal’c stared at the picture, a smile slowly growing on his face.

“I take it that is you?” Hammond asked, his voice silky quiet.

“Ah…yeah…but where? How?”

Jacob came to the rescue. “Apparently this was taken in a raid Yu made on Argos six months ago. When Xiaolian saw it, she went back to Argos and tortured the woman who painted it into revealing your identity.”

Kynthia…that could be the only explanation. He hadn’t thought about her in years; but apparently she hadn’t forgotten him.

“Jack,” Jacob said, his smile gone. “Xiaolian is threatening the total annihilation of Earth if we don’t hand you over.”

Jack was momentarily stunned, but then he remembered that most Goa’uld didn’t even require a reason for mass destruction and annihilation. “But why?”

“Apparently she’s in love with you.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Jack’s eyes were drawn back to the painting, it wasn’t even really a good likeness. How could she think she was in love with a man she’d only seen in a painting?

“Evidently she thought she had captured you, when her Jaffa took Daniel, but as she discovered, they got the wrong member of SG1.”

“What about Daniel? Is he okay?” Sam asked, clearly worried.

Jacob smiled wryly. “Her Imperial Highness reports that he is unharmed and will gladly release him in exchange for Colonel O’Neill.”

“I’ve already spoken with the President, son. He’ll support whatever decision you make,” Hammond said, his expression serious. 

“Well,” Jack said slowly, ignoring the stricken look on Sam’s face and the equally somber look on Teal’c’s. “I don’t see that I have any other choice, given the total destruction of Earth and all.” He looked at Jacob. “Are we sure we can trust her?”

Jacob lowered and raised his head and then Selmak spoke. “It is always difficult to predict the trustworthiness of the Goa’uld; however our operative in Yu’s court managed to get us a message. He reports that Xiaolian is acting on her own—”

“So Daddy doesn’t know,” Sam said thoughtfully. “Maybe she’s bluffing about the annihilation of Earth?”

Selmak, who never smiled, looked positively grim. “No, our operative confirms that she has a mother ship at her disposal with more than enough firepower to, if not annihilate Earth, at least severely damage major cities in all the continents.”

“Well,” Jack said with a wry smile. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Sir! Don’t you want some time to—”

“To what? Get ready?”

Sam shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “I’m sure we’d all understand if you wanted a few hours to think about it.”

“Nope,” Jack said firmly. “If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it now. And Daniel better damn well appreciate it.”

“Very well,” Hammond said, standing. “I’ll notify her highness’ attendant that he may return through the Stargate and tell his mistress we are ready to meet her demand. It’ll be up to her then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Jack suspected, they didn’t have to wait long. Qianfan returned less than two hours later to escort them to the planet where the exchange would take place. Evidently Xiaolian was exceptionally anxious to obtain the man of her dreams—a dream Jack fully intended to turn into a nightmare the first chance he got. Jack had already changed into his BDUs’ and with a few personal items stuffed in a duffel bag made his way to the gate room. Carter and Teal’c were already geared up and waiting to accompany him to the exchange, along with Jacob. 

“Son,” Hammond said, saluting him. “Good luck.”

“For God and country, sir.”

Walter’s voice sounded over the speaker. “Chevron Seven is locked.”

The inner wheel stopped spinning and the vortex whooshed into the gate room, stabilizing into a shimmering event horizon. Jack didn’t look back, conscious of the people crowded in the control room watching his departure. Carter and Teal’c flanked him protectively, Jacob bringing up the rear as Jack stepped through the Stargate on Earth for possibly the last time.

The Stargate spit them out into a broad valley, surrounded by low rising hills, covered with the usual forest. A red tent had been erected about fifty yards from the Stargate, various brightly colored flags moved easily in the light breeze. Jack stepped down off the plinth, his team right behind him, and followed Qianfan towards the tent. When they reached the broad awning of the tent, the front flaps of the tent were suddenly pulled aside by two Jaffa, with a third pushing a rather irritated looking Daniel out of the tent.

“All right,” Daniel grumbled. “You don’t have to push.”

“Quiet!” A woman’s haughty voice loudly proclaimed. Xiaolian swept past Daniel, her skirts swirling around him as she passed. If Jack wasn’t about to become her bitch, he might have thought she Xiaolian was an attractive woman. She had her glistening black hair piled in an elaborate arrangement on top of her head, several wooden hair sticks with tinkling bells and other jewels artistically arranged the upswept hairdo. Her almost black eyes eyed him hungrily, her red painted lips curved in a smug smile.

“So,” she said, walking slowly around him, waving Carter and Teal’c out of her way. “I have found you at last.”

“Hey guys,” Daniel said. “What’s going on?”

Jack stood stiffly, staring straight ahead, ignoring the sultry scent of jasmine, forcing himself not to flinch when she stopped right in front of him and lightly trailed her fingers in a lingering caress down his check, digging her blood red nails in just enough to let him know who was boss.

She stepped back and then cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowed as she studied him. “You have aged since that picture was painted.”

Jack shrugged. “You don’t like the gray?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly. “You will do.” She gestured to her First Prime. “We will depart within the hour!” Xiaolian turned to Jack then and held out her hand. “In the meantime,” she purred, “you will come with me.”

“Jack?” Daniel asked again, his voice tense. 

“Daniel,” Jack said, letting Xiaolian lead him away. “Go with Carter, Teal’c and Jacob, they’ll explain everything.”

“No, wait!” he protested. “You can’t—”

Whatever Daniel was going to say was suddenly interrupted by the sound of transport rings, which suddenly materialized a short distance away, revealing two Jaffa and a very pissed off looking Lord Yu. Xiaolian gasped and abruptly let go of his arm; Jack to moved slowly away from her, his team taking up positions around him. 

“Foolish child!” Lord Yu bellowed, not even glancing their way when he strode on past them and stopped right in front of his daughter. Xiaolian cringed slightly. “Did you not think I would discover your stupidity?”

“But, Father!” she protested.

“Quiet!” He raised his hand and slapped her; Xiaolian collapsed into a heap on the ground, weeping loudly. “Qianfan, take this wayward child back to the ship. I will deal with her later.”

Qianfan bowed low, grabbing Xiaolian by one arm and dragging her to her feet. She struggled briefly, and the Jaffa finally gave up and heaved her up over his shoulder. She wailed even more loudly then, but the man strode off, ignoring her tears.

Lord Yu watched his hysterical daughter for a moment, a look of disgust on his face, before turning to the group clustered around Jack. “I offer my sincerest apologies for the behavior of my foolish daughter. I will not have the wrath of the Asgard brought down upon the System Lords for such a trivial reason.” Yu stalked off and gestured to his Jaffa, who joined him as the ring transporter appeared and they disappeared back into the sky.

Daniel turned toward them, a look of total confusion on his face. “Would somebody tell me what is going on?”

Sam laughed, Teal’c smirked, Jack managed a faint smile and Jacob chuckled. “Well, Daniel,” Jacob finally said. “There’s this picture back at the SGC you have got to see. It’ll explain everything.”

“Now, wait a minute Jacob!” Jack said, hurrying off as his team and Jacob started towards the Stargate. “Don’t forget the part about how I saved the Earth from total annihilation!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that very day, Sam walked confidently down the quiet corridors of the SGC to the conference room on level twenty-five. She didn’t encounter anyone, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have been worried. The evening staff was accustomed to seeing her, so she knew her presence on this level wouldn’t arouse any suspicion. Arriving at the conference room, she found the door already slightly ajar. Cautiously pushing it open, she peered in. Her heart sank when she saw Siler and she almost left, but when he lifted the painting off the easel and set it down on the table, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open and strode on in.

“Major.” Siler nodded, collapsing the portable easel. “What can I do for you, ma’am?”

She smiled brightly and trailed her hand lightly along the frame. “What’s going to happen to the painting?”

Siler looked oddly flustered. “Colonel O’Neill asked me to run it through the shredder, ma’am.”

Sam nodded and then added casually. “Weren’t you supposed to take the gate offline tonight and recalibrate the timing relays?”

Siler’s look changed from flustered to uncomfortable. “Ah…yes, ma’am.”

“That’s okay, Sergeant,” she said, subtly emphasizing his rank. “Tell you what,” she continued. “I’ll take care of the painting for you. I think the diagnostic on the Stargate takes precedence over Colonel O’Neill’s orders in this instance.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Siler said. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”

Sam waited until Siler had left the room, easel in hand, before she picked up the painting. She lifted the cover and took a brief look at it before carefully wrapping it in the cloth. Yes, she decided smugly, hurriedly leaving the room with her contraband, the portrait would like perfect in her bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**EPILOGUE**

Jack staggered to the bedroom, his arms around Sam, barely getting them both to the bed, so totally caught up in the frenzy of suppressed longing and lust that had finally been set free. Clothes flew wildly around Sam’s bedroom and when they were both naked, Jack gladly let her push him down onto the bed. She straddled him, her blue eyes burning bright with passion and Jack had no problem in letting her take the lead, when moaning softly, she grasped his straining erection and slowly sank down onto him.

His eyes practically rolled back in his head and he groaned, gripping her hips. God, it was so good and better than…well, better than anything he could remember, her flesh tugging and pulling at him as she rode him. Making love to her was everything he’d ever imagined, except it didn’t last near long enough, the intensity of their emotions finally exploding in a cataclysmic release for Jack that swept through him, leaving him dazed and replete. He barely managed to take care of Sam, his fingers fumbling through her slick folds until she shuddered over him, grinding herself against his fingers and calling out his name before collapsing in a boneless heap on top of him.

Jack held her close, breathing heavily and enjoying the random shivers that still raced through both of them. “God, Sam,” he gasped, nuzzling her hair. “That was incredible.”

Sam sighed happily and squirmed against him, getting into a more comfortable position on top of him. “I’ll say.”

Jack stroked her back, loving the feel of her under his hands, and now that their immediate lust had been satisfied, Jack was just content to hold her; enjoying the soft feel of her breasts nestled against his chest, the sweet weight of her lithe body draped languidly over him. It felt so good…it felt so right. Grinning a bit stupidly, Jack shifted his head slightly and looked around. He’d never been in her bedroom and from his comfy position on her bed he a good view, and he was curious as to what her room would reveal about this previously hidden part of her life.

The walls were painted a soft green, drapes in a slightly darker shade hung over the windows. The dark wood dresser and chest of drawers looked to be antiques and Jack was mildly surprised. He wouldn’t have figured her for an antiques sort of person. There were even some nice paintings on the walls, a mountain landscape he recognized by a local artist and—Jack sat up suddenly, dislodging Sam from her relaxed position on top of him. 

“Jack,” she grumbled, trying to pull him back down and wriggling sensuously against him.

“Ah…Carter?” That got her attention and she looked up at him through her tousled bangs. Jack raised an eyebrow. “What’s that doing here?” He gestured to the painting that hung on the wall directly across from the bed.

Sam frowned briefly and then her eyes flew wide open. “Oh my god!” She scrambled to a sitting position next to him and they both stared at the painting that had almost caused an apocalypse.

“Sam?”

She finally looked at him, her cheeks slightly flushed. “I couldn’t let Siler destroy it, Jack.”

“So you’ve had it here, in your bedroom, for the past year?”

Smiling almost tentatively, she nodded.

Jack thought he should be mad or feel totally weirded out that she had an almost nude portrait of him hanging in her bedroom—or think that she was totally weird—but instead it made him feel…incredibly hot. He grinned at her, a fresh surge of passion rushing straight to his groin. 

“And?” Jack asked, leering at her and pulling her back down onto the bed, rolling on top of her.

Sam smiled brightly up at him, looping her arms around his neck and moving beneath him until he was settled securely between her thighs. “And now I know why Kynthia always had such a big smile on her face!”

**THE END**


End file.
